Garment



Oct. 8, 1929. JONES 1,731,137

GARMENT Filed April 6, 1928 Ivar/6721307: Mavfiqnll. cioms.

y 7. M, W

was 0a. 8, 1929 PATENT OFFICE R1011 R. JONES, OI BIRMINGHAM, MASSACHUSETTS GARMENT Application filed April 8,

This invention aims to provide a combined dress and apron that is attractive in appearance and of great utility.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown one illustrative embodiment of the invention wherein:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a short sleeved dress with an apron or removable front at tached thereto, and

Fig. 2 is a modified form of garment.

The particular embodiment of this invention selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the drawings represents a garment 1 particularly adapted for use as a house dress. For convenience this dress is shown as having short sleeves 2, waist portion 3, and shirt 4, all integrally united. A neck opening 5 is provided which opening is herein shown surrounded by a collar 6, although the invention is not limited thereto. The type of dress shown herein has been chosen because of its simplicity, although it is to be understood the invention is not limited thereto.

This invention includes in combination with the dress 1, a front apron-like covering 7 having a front waist portion 8 and a skirt portion 9. The waist portion 8 is designed approximately to conform with and cover the normal waist portion of the body of the garment or dress and extends from points adjacent the shoulder seams 10 downwardly to the belt line of said dress. The skirt 9 of said apron portion extends downwardly from the belt line to the bottom or lower edge 11 of the hem of the skirt of the dress. It is desirable that the front or apron-like covering 7, as a whole, approximately coincides in contour with the outline of the body portion of the dress, so that when said covering is attached to the dress, the edges thereof will conform to and appear to merge with the contour or outline of the dress body and be practically indistinguishable from the said dress, thus appearing to an observer from a point in front of the dress as an integral part thereof, and, therefore, suitable for wear wherever the dress alone may be worn.

Obviously, the dress proper may be an afternoon, street, or merely a house dress, and with the apron or front covering 1938. Serial K0. 267,845.

attached, said dress will be fully protected regardless of the character of the work to be performed by its wearer, and at the same time said apron need not be,removed, but be just as suitable and look as well as the dress itself,

whether the latter be an afternoon street or merely a house dress, in fact the lines of the apron are intended to so add to the pleas ing and trim effects of the dress as to be fully I as attractive attached as the dress alone would be.

The sides of the waist portion of the front covering may be embellished in any appropriate manner to enhance the appearance of the garment, and in the present embodiment the side edges of said waist portion extend from points 12 in the shoulder seams 10 downwardly along curved lines 13 to desired points in the side seams 14 of the dress, said last mentioned points being shown preferably slightly above the waistline of the dress so that the front of the waist of said dress will be fully protected.

It is, however, to be understood that the points at which the side lines 13 of the apron terminate are not limited to those shown herein.

To further enhance the appearance of the outer or front covering of the garment, a series cf plaits 16 or gathers are formedoalon the side margins of the apron skirt from a jacent to the lower ends of the curved edges 13 or the waistline of said apron, thence downwardly to the lower edge of the hem 17 of the apron. To properly secure the upper ends of the plaits 16 in place and also to add a finishing touch thereto, a reinforcing strip 18 is attached to each side of said apron across and securely binding together the upper ends of said plaits.

By providing the plaits 16 at the sides more fullness will be added to the apron undoubt-- edly said apron will not appear to an observer as an apron, but as an integral part of the garment proper.

The apron 7 may be and preferably is herein shown as reversible, and to this end means are provided for reversibly and detachably securing said apron to the dress at selected points. For example, along the shoulder seams 10 and at points 18 in the side seams 14 of the garment, although it is to be understood that the fastening means are not limited to the specific points indicated.

Any appropriate or suitable securing means may be used for this purpose, but in the present example buttons 19 are herein attached to the dress and cooperate with other means such as buttonholes 20 formed at desirable corresponding points in the apron which buttonholes obviously will work either way. That is, whether the apron is put on with one side or the other out. In order that the dress may present a pleasing appearance when the apron is not worn, the buttons used for the foregoing purpose may be ornamental and be only part of a series of buttons arranged along the shoulder portion of the dress. and along the side. seams thereof. Obviously, the garment herein disclosed may be made of any suitable or desirable material, either of the same material throughout, or itis clearly within the scope and purpose of the invention to make the dress proper of a different material from the apron. For example, the dress proper may be made of silk or other dainty fabric, while the apron may be made of a much cheaper grade, or be rubberized or rubber-coated on one or both faces. In fact, I do not limit myself to any particular material for the dress and apron.

In Fig. 2 is illustrated a fragmentary view of a. modified form of dress and garment, in which case, an inserted sleeve 21 is shown secured to the waist portion 22 of the dress along the arm-scye seam 23. while the apron 24 is shaped substantially to conform to said arm-seye seam and the side seam 25 of the waist of the dress. Additional securing means or buttons 26 may in such case be placed close up to the arm-pits as well as along the shoulder seam 27 of the garment to insure a better fit.

The invention is not limited to the particular embodiment shown.

Claim:

The combination with a dress having waist and skirt portions of an apron-like covering approximately conforming in outllne with the outline of the front only of the waist and skirt portions of said dress, and coinciding in shape and simulating in appearance the portions of the dress covered thereby, said front covering having fullness including a plurality of plaits formed along each side thereof from points near the waist line to the bottom hem of said apron-like covering to insure the extending of the edges of said covering to the sidescams of said dress, and means detachably to secure said covering to said dress.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

MARION R. JONES. 

